(India) Shunned by kin, Muslim friends performed the last rites of their departed friend in Gujarat
We didn't know about the rituals and so asked his relatives to guide us. Why can we leave him on his final journey and forget the bond we have shared for over three decades?
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AJKOT: “These are my true relatives and I will never forget their obligation,” a son asserted, who was assisted by the friends of his deceased father in performing the last rites, while all the relatives stayed away fearing Covid’s infection.
Five Muslims and one Hindu performed their departed friend’s last rites, 56-year-old Milan Bagadiya, a Jain in Botad — from bathing the body to adorning and bringing it on the bier on their shoulders to the crematorium — passing the test of three decades of flying color friendship while creating a beautiful scene of brotherhood and friendship on Thursday.
Jain’s 24-year-old son, Nikunj, a qualified accountant working in Bhavnagar, was at the end of his wit when the immediate family members refused to come forward for the rituals suspecting Covid-19’s death. Bagadiya had suffered from cold and fever for three days, and died in his home on Thursday morning before being taken to the hospital. Besides his son, Bagadiya leaves behind his wife, who is 50 years old, and a daughter, who is 21.
Speaking to TOI, Nikunj said “I told my relatives but they were hesitant to take part in the last rites suspecting coronavirus. I have never felt so sad and desolate. Yet Botad marketing yard president Anil Seth and five of his other close Muslim friends have not let us despair. They helped us more than any member of the family would ever do.”
Bagadiya was a commission agent in the Botad marketing yard, his business partners Tousif Sidatar rescued the family when Mohammad Variaya, Abdul Arabiyani, Ashraf Arabiyani and Bashrat Sidatar joined him in doing whatever they wanted. In the morning they reached Bagadiya’s house, and the rituals began with his son’s permission.
Tousif said to TOI: “We didn’t know about the rituals and so asked his relatives to guide us. For the last 35 years Bagadiya has been our friend and business partner. Why can we leave him on his final journey and forget the bond we have shared for over three decades?
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